family ties
by valdezy
Summary: Jack Kelly doesn't have a family by blood - but he's got a brother, and a best friend, and a girlfriend. And really, who cares about blood? Jack's always had a family, and he always will.


Jack Kelly doesn't have a family.

He doesn't have a mother, or a father - not anymore. He tries not to think about when he did, because that was so long ago. He likes to pretend that he hardly even remembers it, as if those days were simply pages out of a storybook, like the ones that Davey reads to Les. He tries to ignore how _empty_ and alone he feels sometimes - because even in a city full of so many people, Jack Kelly feels like the most isolated kid in the world.

He's spent his whole life trying to move past his insecurities and fears. The ones that make him deny every request that Mrs. Jacobs sends along asking him to dinner. The same insecurities that make him fidget when he's nervous, laugh instead of cry, pretend to be fine instead of ask for help.

How do you ask for help when you haven't got a family to get it from?

* * *

He doesn't have a family, but Jack Kelly does have a brother.

He knows Crutchie better than he knows himself, and the kid could say the same thing for Jack.

It's hard not to get that close when they're the one person you can always count on, through thick and thin. Crutchie may have a gimp leg, but his heart is pure gold and Jack hasn't ever seen anything take that away. Even the Refuge - which took Jack's iron will and pounded it into the same dirty concrete he sold papes on - even that didn't touch Crutchie. Not in the way that really mattered - although Jack disagreed, when he saw the dark patches littering Crutchie's skin.

It's hard not to have a brother when you spend your nights with someone, staring up at the painted dots of stars in the sky, dreaming of somewhere you might never reach. It's one of those nights, after the strike is over and everything is kind of okay, that Crutchie brings it up again.

"Hey, Jackie," Crutchie starts, tentatively. That alone puts Jack a little on edge, because if anyone's comfortable around him, it's Crutchie.

"Yeah?" He turns around, staring the boy in the eyes. Crutchie doesn't look away, drawing a deep breath.

"I was - I was thinking, you see. Remember how we's talked about going far away, after everything ended?"

"Yeah?" Jack says again. He can kind of see where this is going, but leaves it alone. Jack had learned early on that Crutchie liked to get all his words in.

"Well - and I get it if you ain't too keen to do more talking on this, 'cause it was your dream and all. I know you decided to stay here, and I guess I was just wondering - are you always going to be here, Jack? 'Cause I don't want you to just one day back up and ride off, like we used to dream about up here. It's a lot better now, and I guess I just -"

Jack laughs. He can't help it. Crutchie scowls and Jack knows that has to be a jab on Crutchie's pride, but he can't help it. The idea of leaving Crutchie is, and has always been, unfathomable.

"Nah, kid." He laughs. "I ain't ever leaving without you, that's for sure. Besides, I'm startin' to get used to it here. I almost like it, sometimes."

And hell, when Crutchie smiles, he almost _loves_ this damn city for making his brother's face light up brighter than the sun and the stars.

* * *

Jack Kelly might not have a family, exactly, but he does have a best friend. A best friend who has, apparently, made him an honorary big brother.

"What?" Jack chokes out.

"Well, yeah," Davey says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course you're his big brother. Maybe not by blood, but who ever cared about that anyways?"

And well, Jack certainly didn't.

"No way, Davey." He still insists, staring at him in shock. "You can't just -"

"I certainly can." Davey smiles. "You're my best friend, and God knows you do a good enough job being a big brother to the other boys. I think you can handle one more. Besides, it's Les. He loves you."

"Well, yeah, and I love the kid, you know that -"

"Then I really don't see what the problem is." Davey smiles, and Jack knows he's stuck.

It's not so much that he minds the responsibility of being Les's big brother. Like Davey said, God knows he has enough experience in that area. It's not that he thinks it'll be a hassle, either, because it certainly won't. Les is the sweetest kid that Jack's ever met, and he takes care of him already - he always will.

It's got more to do with trust, Jack realizes. That Davey trusts him enough to put an honor like this on his shoulders, to relinquish some of his rights as big-brother-by-blood to some grimy boy from the streets.

Suddenly, Jack really latches on to what Davey said, earlier.

"I'm your best friend?"

Davey's brow furrows. "Well, yeah. I mean, I understand if I'm not yours - you've got Crutchie and the other boys, but -"

Now it's Jack's turn to cut him off. "Shut it, Davey. Crutchie's my brother - you's my best friend."

Davey smiles, as wide and bright as the sun. "Well then, as my _best friend_, you are officially Les's older brother. And as Les's older brother, you now have an obligation to come to dinner. So come on, Jack. My mom's making chicken soup, and it's delicious."

Jack's stomach growls - he might be making more money with his drawings now, but most of it still goes to feed the boys at the lodging house. And as much as he's been avoiding his best friend's parents, not wanting to ruin whatever image they had of him in their minds, the invitation of warm, meaty soup is too much to deny. Not to mention that Davey's put this new honor on his shoulders - he doesn't want the first thing he does as Les's honorary older brother be to let him down.

"All right," Jack acquiesces, and Davey grins even brighter.

"My mother's going to be all over you, you know. She can't believe it's even taken you this long to come visit."

Jack cracks a grin and loops an arm around Davey's shoulders. "Let's go get Les and show your mother just how trustworthy a boy she's letting into her home."

Davey snorts. "In your dreams, Jack." But both of them know that really, they trust each other to the ends of the earth.

* * *

And sure, Jack Kelly doesn't have a family, but he does have a girl. One who's loud, and strong, and beautiful and amazing - one that really, he doesn't deserve. Because Katherine is a million stars in the sky and he's just one boy in one city, smaller than a pinprick of dust - but Katherine won't hear about it, because she's gorgeous and a genius and a miracle all wrapped up into one strong person.

And Katherine, the miracle that she is, likes to make her thoughts heard.

"Jack Kelly," she starts one day, as he crawls in through her window. Her voice is stern and set, and that's how he just _knows _he's in trouble. "Why can't you just use the door like a normal human being?"

"Where's the fun in that, Ace?"

"How about, where's the safety in climbing up a creaky old fire escape that couldn't even hold up a cat?"

"Yous a reporter. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"'Yous a reporter'," She mimics, slapping him lightly on the head. "I'm also your girlfriend, Jack Kelly, and I will not have you dying when you come up here. What would the boys do without you?" She looks down. In a slightly softer voice, she wonders, "What would _I _do without you?"

"Aw, Ace..." Jack sighs, because he didn't know he was making her this worried. Strong as she is, she doesn't like to voice her fears out loud. Jack knows the feeling. He gathers her in his arms, carding his fingers through her auburn hair. "Sorry. I'll be more careful, if you really want."

She laughs dryly, but in good humor. "Sure," she says, like she doesn't believe him, and he knows that she doesn't.

He grabs her shoulders and looks her in the eyes. "For real," he says earnestly. Surprise fills her expression, but then she laughs, pulling him into a hug.

"It ain't like a fire escape's the only danger in my life, though," He laughs into her hair.

"What else?" She challenges, although Katherine can certainly name some off the top of her head.

"Hmmm..." Jack grins. "The Delancy's, cold, sickness, the boys annoying me to death..." Katherine is about to cut in when he smiles. "You."

She frowns in mock outrage, poking him in the chest as her glare turns to a laugh. "Shut up, Kelly."

"You are, though!" He laughs. "You's gorgeous and smart and perfect. Any guy would be in danger from someone like you. You're intimidating, Ace."

"The great Jack Kelly is scared of _me_?" She crows, even though her face is red and her heart is pounding. He sure does know how to throw out compliments.

"Sure am, Ace." He smiles gently and whacks her on the shoulder - a Jack Kelly sign of affection. "Don't mean I don't love you more than anything, though."

She blushes - because who wouldn't after _that - _and pulls him down into a kiss. She can feel his shoulders stiffen in surprise but relax as she slips her arms around her shoulders. When they pull away, Jack is the one colored a deeper red than the setting sun.

"Damn, Ace," he smiles. "See what I mean? Intimidating."

* * *

Jack Kelly doesn't have a family - but really, he does.

The boys at the lodging house aren't his brothers by blood, but who cares about blood when you're been through what they have together? These boys are the strongest people that Jack knows, and he's seen them go through hell and back. He stayed in New York for them, and how could he ever really consider leaving? The city still drove him crazy sometimes - the starving kids on the street, the streetlamps covering the stars, and noise that constantly filtering through the walls. But New York is where Crutchie is, and Davey and Les and Katherine and all the boys.

He'd risk his life for any one of them, and they'd do the same. Who cares about blood when you're so close that even the harsh realities of the world can't tear you apart? Who cares about blood when any one of them would sacrifice their hard-earned meals for the boys with less? It never mattered that they're just a scrawny bunch of boys trying to survive in a concrete city. They have each other.

So really, how did Jack never realize before that he _did_ have a family? He always had.

* * *

**and here u can see the undeniable proof that i am total and complete newsies trash**

**i saw the movie in seventh grade and was obsessed and then i saw the play like a year or two later and became _obsessed _i mean i have a selfie with corey cott? and a newsie hat that i actually wear in public? and a playbill signed by the entire cast of the show? yeahhhh**

**so in a recent moment of extreme newsies love, i decided to write a fanfic and here is the result of that - honestly i'm just so in love with all of jack's relationships because every one is a type of love in different ways and i just think it's amazing how the play especially managed to show how close these characters are to him and the different relationships he has with each of them! i think about this a lot tbh**

**so let me know what you think! reviews are always appreciated! **


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